


Safeguard

by Ramblesgalore



Category: Constantine (TV), Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, brief mentions of violence, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 07:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17462921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ramblesgalore/pseuds/Ramblesgalore
Summary: John keeps getting hurt, and Lucifer thinks he isn’t doing a thing





	Safeguard

_I’m not supposed to see him like this._ At least, that’s the first thought Lucifer had when John Constantine stumbled into LUX after it had closed, a weak “help” spilling from him before he practically fell into Lucifer’s arms. He dragged Johnny to the apartment easily, setting him down on the couch before grabbing the first aid kit and some other supplies from around the apartment. He cut John’s shirt off using one of Maze’s knives, an involuntary gasp falling once he sees what had happened, followed by a hushed whisper. “What the hell did you get yourself into, Constantine..?”Multiple gashes and claw marks are all over John’s chest and stomach, and Lucifer didn’t even need to flip John to know there was more on his back, blood caked to the skin. He set to work, grabbing the damp washcloth he had set down and started to carefully clean out John’s wounds. He wouldn’t be able to know how deep the wounds were until John was cleaned up a fair amount, luckily they seemed to be rather shallow.

Not too long after Lucifer had started cleaning John up, the blonde woke up with a hiss of pain and a groan, looking at Lucifer with tired, pain-stricken eyes. “Luci, why are you-“ Lucifer didn’t move his gaze up to John’s, but his voice rang out clear as day. “Johnny, you can’t tell me you expected to sneak upstairs and take care of this yourself?? You collapsed into me like a dead man once you got through the door!” John let out a noise halfway between a groan and a laugh, tilting his head backwards. “I didn’ want you to worry s’all, I know ‘ow you can get when I come home like this. Isn’ much, Luci, I can take care of it m’self.” John tried to push himself up to prove his point, instead letting out a hiss of pain before falling backwards again. Lucifer quickly cleaned away the fresh blood, glancing down with a small frown. “No no no no, this isn’t an option for you, a deal to make. You are going to lie here, let me bandage you up, and not make a fuss, okay?” 

John shook his head, groaning as he tried to move away. “Luv I don’t need you to do this, I can easily just-“ John froze when he heard the sudden pound of Lucifer’s fist into the table, eyes flickering with that familiar red glint. “ **Just let me fucking do this, John! Let me protect you for once in my bloody life!** ” John swallowed and looked up at Lucifer, trying to desperately blink away the tears that started to form. Lucifer looked down and saw the familiar glimmer of tears in the warlock’s eyes. He had seen them before, when John had a particularly nasty nightmare, a job gone horribly wrong, or even when his own thoughts plagued him too much. Lucifer felt his anger being replaced with fear and anxiety, recoiling as he started to devolve into babbling apologies. “No, no no no no Johnny I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to lose my temper with you I-“ John shook his head and reached out for Lucifer, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “N-no it’s not that, luv. I’m just…” John closed his eyes before taking in a breath, slightly labored from his wounds and rattling with pent-up emotions. “You don’t think you’re protecting me..? That I’m gettin m’self hurt and you can’t be there to stop it..?

Lucifer felt his own stomach drop then, all his inner worries bubbling up to the surface. The fears and worries he kept bottled up so well, so tightly everyone else never got to see them. Everyone except for John, the only person who managed to crack the top of the bottle off, let every worry of his spill out and fizzle around him. He finally untensed and inched his way back to John, sitting next to him. “Watching you throw yourself at the worst Hell has to offer, coming back battered and bloodied, and knowing that I hadn’t done a thing to keep you safe… what does that make me? The callous bastard everyone sees me as? There goes Lucifer _bloody_ Morningstar, caring about nobody but himself and watching everyone around him get hurt.” John kept himself silent, squeezing the other’s hand when it started to shake. “I’m scared that one day, you’ll be saving everyone from the monsters they can’t see and because I’m not there to help you, to defend you, you end up-” 

 

John cut Lucifer off with a kiss, emotional and energized, but gentle due to his injuries. The other tensed when the blonde kissed him, hands a shaking mass and stubborn tears trying to fall from his eyes. Slowly, he lost his edge and rested his hands on John’s waist, saddened when John pulled away. “I will never let that happen, mate. And you do protect me, in more ways than you allow yourself to think.” Lucifer chuckled before looking back at John. “And how do I do that, hm? Keeping dogs away from the club? Sharing a lighter with you when yours is bust?” Suddenly the two of them were laughing, and everything that had happened seemed to melt away for a moment. Lucifer didn’t pay attention to the wounds he still needed to patch up, or the way a couple tears had slipped out of his eyes, it didn’t matter for a minute. All that mattered was he was happy, John was happy and that was more than enough for now.

When they’d stopped laughing, Lucifer remembered the task he had, starting to bandage up the wounds on John’s chest and stomach. He kept looking up to see how John was holding up, being met with a smile each time before looking down to tend to the wounds present.”You never let me finish, Luci.” John’s voice made Lucifer turn, fresh bandages and a new washcloth in hand. “Mm, what’s that? I could have sworn you had finished talking five minutes ago, Johnny.” Lucifer was met with a chuckle for a response, turning John over carefully to tend to the gashes and cuts on his back. “Never let me finish about how you protect me, luv. S’important stuff.” Lucifer hummed in response as he started to clean the cuts on John’s back, earning a slight hiss from John in response to the soapy water. “Sorry, didn’t mean for that to hurt. But go on, tell me how I’m your knight in a shining suit, dear.” John shut his eyes and let his memories flood back to him, carefully recounting each detail he remembered. “You keep me safe when I wake up from those nasty nightmares of mine. You hold me close and get me back to sleep rather than let me calm down on my own. And when I finally wake up you’re still there, holding me close and keepin’ your eye on me.” John couldn’t help the smug smirk that started to form when the other’s hands stilled for a second. “You also keep me safe from myself, when I hide myself in a dark corner and let my thoughts get the best of me. You find your way to me and pull me away from whatever I was doing. Whether it’s dragging me to that piano of yours to listen to you play or to the couch to rewatch episodes of your crime show.” Lucifer shook his head with a weak laugh, wringing out the cloth. “Do not go criticizing my shows, Johnny. I don;t judge you and your choices in music. And you certainly have proved your point then, about me. Go ahead, you can say I told you so. I know you want to.” John hummed, but never said a thing in response, just keeping still while the other patched him up.

Lucifer finally helped John sit up, all his scratches cleaned and wrapped up. John leaned heavily on the other’s shoulder, eyes struggling to remain open from a mix of exhaustion and the dull pain in the back of his head. His eyes shot open when he felt himself be lifted up, looking up to see Lucifer smirking at him. “You really need to practice your skills of pretending, Johnny. You’re easier to read than an open book most times.” John mumbled something incoherent against Lucifer, too muddled by his sleep tinged accent to make anything out of it. Lucifer smiled and carried John to his (their, he kept reminding himself each day. John was different, unlike everyone else Lucifer had been with. He actually stuck around and didn’t leave when everyone else told him to) room and set him down in the bed, fixing some of the loose tufts of blonde hair that stuck out. A small smile crept up on John’s face at the action, his entire body relaxing as he started to drift off completely. Lucifer smiled and started to walk out, stopped when he felt John’s hand grab his. “Stay… please…” Lucifer felt panic settle in, unsure of what to do, what to say. He settled on nothing, slipping into bed next to John, still rigid with hints of anxiety. He flinched when he felt John’s arm around his waist, but slowly eased into the touch. Eventually Lucifer claimed himself down, hesitantly putting his arms around John before falling asleep, comforted that John was safe, was here with him for another day.


End file.
